La Dispute bids farewell to longtime guitarist Kevin Whittemore

Grand Rapids-based and international-touring band La Dispute publicly announced today that founding member and guitarist Kevin Whittemore is leaving the band to pursue other interests after 10 years with this unique, post hardcore act.

Whittemore's departure leaves vocalist Jordan Dreyer and drummer Brad Vander Lugt as the only remaining original members of the band, which was founded in 2004. La Dispute recently swung through Michigan and stopped at the Pyramid Scheme. We previewed that show HERE.

La Dispute announced via its website that they do have a guitarist to fill-in as they prepare for a tour overseas. Below is their entire message.

"For those of you not present at either our Grand Rapids or our Cleveland show this past Sunday and Monday respectively (excepting of course close friends not in attendance who were privy to this information prior to the commencement of tour), Kevin has, after roughly ten years of standing to my left and playing guitar in La Dispute, decided to move on to pursue other endeavors. Unsurprisingly, he’s stepping only sideways in his passion, opting instead to pursue the building of beautiful guitars rather than to play guitar beautifully as a profession, enrolling in a luthiery school here in our home state of Michigan starting this summer.

As those of you forced to suffer through my sentimental speeches during his final two shows have already heard me say, it’s as difficult for us to see him step down as it must’ve been for him to commit to doing so, and our sadness in him leaving is surpassed only by our excitement for him in the future he has chosen. He is nothing short of truly remarkable human, and he has been a vitally important member of whatever this thing is since it’s earliest infancy and the remaining four members of it plus extended family are forever in debt for his contributions both as a musician and, more importantly always, as a dear friend. There’s already a Kevbo shaped hole in me and in all of us, and we’ll feel it forever, I know. There’s really nobody like him.

And of course, I speak only of that absence in the context of the van and on stage–we’ll all remain family till death. Anybody who was in attendance for the farewell hometown show and his final show knows that without a shred of uncertainty (the chants were unreal, thank you). In all honesty, we wouldn’t be posting this were it not to combat the internet’s nasty habit of misinformation. This was a decision made between Kevin and us, five friends who’ve done more together than we ever could’ve imagined all those years back in the warehouse of a hardware store in Grand Rapids, MI. So, best to Kevin in this public forum, thanks for everything. Be seeing you soon, bud." (LaDisputeMusic.com)